Gildan’s holistic approach means carefully scrutinizing their impact on people, the community and the environment. The goal is to produce high quality, excellent value products while constantly seeking new ways to reduce the impact on the environment and improve the lives of those we touch.

Gildan is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of basic T shirts, sweatshirts and polo shirts with more than 600 million garments and 300 million pairs of socks manufactured last year alone.

We own every step in the process from acquisition of raw fibre to finished garments within our own factories. Our state of the art facilities located in Central America and the Caribbean basin are models of efficiency and cutting edge technology. We continue to invest more in new plants and equipment than any other manufacturer in our industry.

We apply stringent Environment Management Systems that control every chemical and dye that we use in the process and this is why we carry the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certification. We purchase only 100% USA cotton which is sustainably grown and ethically harvested. To reinforce this commitment Gildan is pleased to place the Cotton USA mark on the products that we manufacture under the Gildan brand and private labels. 

Environmental sustainability

Owning and operating our own facilities also provides a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to influence the total environmental impact of our production. Gildan has developed some of the industry’s most innovative, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. Our Biotop wastewater system uses gravity to flow the wastewater through a series of lagoons where microorganisms and UV rays naturally balance the pH levels and virtually eliminate all dyes and chemicals. The lagoons also provide much needed irrigation water for local agri-businesses and are home to various species of Central American wildlife. Almost no energy or chemicals are required.

Gildan factories also employ an innovative Brine Recovery System (BRS) because the manufactured coloured apparel requires large quantities of salt to ensure the dyes adhere to the fabric. Designed to reduce our overall salt consumption and water usage the BRS allows the rinse water to flow through a series of membranes. The heavily salted brine is extracted and recycled back into the facility to be used again, whereas the more lightly salted water is allowed to flow into the Biotop. This system has greatly reduced Gildan’s salt consumption and the environmental impacts related to the extraction and shipment of that salt.

At Gildan we’ve also launched our first Biomass steam generation boilers in our Dominican Republic (DR) and Honduran facilities to help us further achieve one of our core CSR initiatives: “Develop alternative energy sources that reduce our carbon footprint”. Biomass systems burn agricultural waste like coconut palm and sugar cane stalks; creating steam within massive boilers. This steam is then piped into the factory, powering multiple systems and substantially reducing consumption of traditionally generated power. While lowering Gildans Green House Gases (GHG) it also reduces costs, allowing us to continue to deliver the best quality, and highest value products available. The approximate reduction in GHG’s from the system in the DR alone are in excess of 64,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually with Honduras expected to be even higher. 

Labour practices

Gildan is pleased to announce the launch of a new unified Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) banner called Genuine Stewardship. We have long demonstrated leading CSR practices, manufacturing high quality, safe products while employing ethical labour practices and environmentally sustainable systems. Gildan Genuine Stewardship mirrors those commitments and will be visible on all Gildan packaging, marketing material and advertisements. One of the core principles is to adopt a “life cycle” approach to our business, dedicating the resources to truly evaluate and understand the total impact of our operations and decisions. We must use that information to drive innovation and collaborate with others so as to amplify the benefits to the global community.

Gildan is the World’s only basic apparel manufacturer to have achieved accreditation by the Fair Labor association (FLA) compliance programme. This is our promise that our products are made in ethically sound and safe facilities. Our CEO sums up our determination “Gildan’s commitment to being a leader in our industry in Corporate Citizenship continues to be an integral part of our overall business strategy. We take pride in providing over 20,000 workers in all of our facilities with modern and safe working environments and a code of conduct that is respectful and progressive”.

Gildan also donates generously to youth education and humanitarian aid projects which is exemplified by our spearheading the Central American Polytechnic Institute where we continue to be committed to our role as lead sponsor. Gildan have also been heavily involved in rebuilding peoples’ lives after the devastating earthquake in Haiti: We have donated of more than $570,000 to the Gildan Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Fund which financed the provision of supplies to Gildan employees, their families and our contractors’ employees in Haiti, as well as the buildings inspections by third-party organizations in order to allow contractors to restart production.

For more information visit www.Gildan.com; www.genuinegildan.com andwww.gildancsr.com 

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